Whaleback Pushes Managed, Not Hosted, VoIP Through Carriers

Like hosted VoIP providers, Whaleback Systems provides IP PBX capabilities to SMBs, with no upfront equipment costs. Customer companies simply pay monthly fees for phone service plus an array of sophisticated call-handling features. But Whaleback calls its CrystalBlue service managed VoIP. It differs from hosted VoIP in where it places the IP PBX and how it delivers the calls. And now Whaleback is offering a new version of the service for sale through carriers, namely SIP trunking providers.

Whaleback delivers its service by putting a compact IP PBX in the customer's premises, and managing it from the Whaleback NOC. It delivers the voice traffic over a dedicated broadband connection. Hosted services, by contrast, locate their PBXes in their NOCs, and deliver the calls over the Internet. Both approaches charge only for service, not for the purchase of the PBX, and both work through IP phones connected to the customers' LANs. But Whaleback's approach avoids the quality concerns of Internet transport of voice calls.

When selling its basic CrystalBlue service, Whaleback provides the broadband connection that carries the voice traffic. With its new service, dubbed CrystalBlue Lite, carriers will sell the service packaged with their SIP trunks. That will let them offer advanced features in addition to basic voice transport, something they're typically not set up to do on their own. It will give them an additional source of revenue, and will give Whaleback an additional way to sell its service.

The new package particularly targets installations from five to 20 seats, according to Whaleback marketing VP Dave Zwicker. Such companies typically need similar sets of features and capabilities, so the HD voice-capable Polycom IP phones can come preconfigured. A new premises-based IP PBX appliance is a key part of the package. It is solid-state rather than server-based, and requires no setup. That means it can be shipped directly to customers, who need merely plug it into their office LANs. Once connected, the appliance automatically downloads the customer's specific configuration configuration. The phones, when plugged into the LAN, recognize the box, and the system is ready to go.

Zwicker thinks the market for companies with five to 99 seats is wide open for such services. The recession permanently changed the thinking of SMBs, he believes. Thus even when the economy improves, they will opt for phone systems they can pay for by the month rather than up front – that is, they will prefer opex over capex. Either way, no solution, whether hardware- or cloud-based, comes close to predominating. And the increasing popularity of SIP trunking, Zwicker argues, will make the Whaleback approach all the more attractive.